
Maybe you’ve heard the story of how I almost quit teaching on my first first day of school.
Despite the fact that I had spent three months preparing moment-by-moment lessons for fall.
Despite the fact that I was wearing my super cool white embroidered top from Bass and carrying my first ever leather shoulder bag.
Despite the fact that I had asked all my friendly, talented and kind new colleagues what I should do on the first day.
I totally blew it, big time. And I want better for you. I want you to feel happy and confident on day one, so you hit the school year running instead of crawling like me.
Because I almost quit that day. But then I didn’t.
Today I’ve got some stories, and some advice. Let’s dive in.
Don’t Try to Memorize Names when you’ve got 10,000 other Things to Think About
One of my first mistakes was thinking I could learn my students’ names with so many other things going on. I had no name tags, no name tents, no photos from school IDs to help me. I figured I would just look at their faces when I called attendance (because the word “here” is just so memorable) and pretty soon I’d know their names. Little did I know the world would basically be a blur for that whole first day as I used the attendance program for the first time, met dozens of teenagers I didn’t know, taught terrible lessons, and even (true story) had to convince a stray cat to walk back out of the room after he walked in through the open door of our trailer. Twice.
Trying to learn names like this led to a stressful day two, three, and four. Because I randomly learned a few names, which only made me feel worse when I got to someone whose name I DIDN’T know, and extra worse when I thought I knew someone’s name, then accidentally called them someone else’s name.
It was a few years before I realized name tents are the WAY TO GO, whether you give kids cardstock with their name printed in large letters, or use a one-pager name tent as a first day activity. With name tents in front of every student from the get go, you never have to worry about that panicky feeling of grasping for a name that is almost certainly not there. It takes all that icky pressure off, and also helps students get to know each other’s names.

Never Read the Syllabus Out Loud
All these years later and I still remember the moment I realized I had lost them. Every student was holding the syllabus, staring at it as the glaze crept over their eyes. I watched them stop caring, knowing I had no backup plan whatsoever and would just have to continue riding my train off its tracks.
Don’t be like me. Pass out your syllabus, and then, in Elsa’s famous words, let it go. If there’s something you really need to reinforce, go for it, but reinforce it in less than 5 minutes or suffer the consequences.
By the way, considering how long (or not long) you’re really going to spend with this syllabus on day one, I wouldn’t invest hours and hours of precious back-to-school season making it! Just grab my free templates and add your info, saving time for more creative endeavors…

Think of the Future with your Displays
I still remember my first classroom – a trailer on the soccer field – so fondly. And my first display too, a series of nature photographs I had taken with lines of poetry from Emily Dickinson overlayed on them.
Yes, they were fun to create. And display.
Nope, they didn’t serve much of a purpose in my classroom! They definitely didn’t come in handy for displaying student work I could easily change out, guiding students towards great books in my library (um, which I didn’t have yet), answering questions about MLA, introducing contemporary authors, or really, anything else.
Oops.
While an isolated supercool display can certainly be fun, I’d recommend a more practical approach these days.

One of my favorite forms of display these days is a string with clips, where you can easily display stellar student work with 90 seconds of effort. Ditto for a beautifully papered bulletin board or wall with a header that says #CrushedIt or “Hall of Fame.” In the time it takes to push in 10 pushpins, you’ve got a new display, and you can easily do that every couple of weeks.
I also love the idea of displays that complement the work you’re focused on. So if you’re diving into MLA, MLA posters might be nice. If you’re leaning into rhetorical analysis, posters defining Ethos, Pathos, and Logos could be cool.
Finally, I’ve gotten fond of displays as a vehicle for bringing more voices into the curriculum. Whether you’re celebrating Hispanic American Heritage Month in September (grab the free display shown below here) or showcasing some favorite authors from your library, a display can help show students more writers you want to bring into the course even if you don’t have budget for 100 copies of their books.

Don’t leave those Dusty Old Texts on the Shelves
Ugh, I had no idea what to do with the random copies of old textbooks on most of the shelves in my classroom when I arrived. They did not inspire me, nor, I am sure, my students. But I didn’t know what else to do so I left them there.
Don’t make my mistake! If you’ve got random old stuff on your shelves that you never asked for, throw it in a box with a label marked “Archive” and stuff it deep under something. Then dust off your shelves and start your classroom library! It took me years to display my first book in the classroom, but you can learn from my mistakes!

Wear Great Shoes (and Clothes you Love)
Personally, I found the whole idea of a “work wardrobe” kind of overwhelming at 22. I went out and bought many pairs of something called “Editor Pants” at Express and fudged my way through it. Probably you already have a cool teacher wardrobe full of just-the-right-level-of-formal clothes and shoes that you can stand up in for ten hours. But just in case you want any ideas on that second front – the shoes – it just so happens that I have gathered a LOT of opinions on this matter since the first day of school when I wore black wedge sandals.


Build in a Parachute
The first day of school may not go perfectly. Mine certainly didn’t. I mean, yours is sure to go better than mine since you’re learning from all my mistakes but still, it wouldn’t hurt to have something fun to look forward to after school. Something involving other adults.
So did I find some colleagues and go laugh it off over a frosted animal cookie frozen yogurt at my favorite ice cream spot, 21 Choices, after my first first day?
Nope. I chose the cool cry-it-off alone in my office for a couple of hours and consider leaving the profession route. So great for day two, amiright?
Don’t make my mistake! Plan in advance to meet colleagues for Boba, join your partner for popcorn and a movie, pick up your kids and head for laser tag, or whatever else will help you keep perspective and give you something to look forward to at the end of a very busy first day.
Because I’m here to tell you, day two will come, and probably it will be better. And so will the next day. So even if there’s an awkward moment or two on that first day, it won’t matter so much once you’re laughing about it with a friend as you slurp up tapioca balls from your pineapple boba (or, you know, Milk tea if you’re more of a traditionalist).
Alright my friend, let’s leave it here for now. I have a feeling you’re going to be hashtagging your own #crushedit (that’s “crushed it,” not “crush edit”) moments after day one. And I’ll be cheering you on!